A healthy plan for weight gain is based on increasing your body's fat-free mass (FFM) and decreasing its fat mass (FM). Increasing FFM includes muscle development through resistance training and proper nutrition, and bone density through resistance training, as well. Nutritionally, you must achieve a positive energy balance--you need to consume more calories than you're burning.
Step 1
Plan out your meals in advance to avoid giving in to temptation and selecting poor food choices. Prepare meals a week in advance. Know what you are going to eat and when.
Step 2
Map out plan to increase calorie intake by approximately 3,500 calories per week, which is how many calories you need to gain 1 lb. of weight. Aim for an additional 500 to 750 calories per day. Increase intake of lean proteins, such as lean beef, skinless chicken, tuna and egg whites, to roughly 1.2 to 1.5 grams per kilogram of your body weight. Eat protein every three to four hours to avoid protein catabolism, or breakdown.
Step 3
Add more calories to your diet with healthy foods by eating four to six servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Choose dried fruits, such as raisins and apricots, over watery fruits like grapefruits and watermelons because they provide more calories. Stir-fry vegetables in olive oil instead of steaming them to sneak in more calories from healthier sources. Eat baked potatoes with low- or reduced-fat sour cream to add calories complex carbs--essential for providing energy to working muscles in a strength training program.
Step 4
Perform resistance exercise at least three times per week on nonconsecutive days. Increase the weight or resistance every four weeks to progressively overload the muscles, thus, encouraging muscle growth. Perform multiple sets of exercises in the eight to 12 repetition range. Limit your cardiovascular or aerobic training to no more than 20 minute bouts as anything excessive is counterproductive to muscle growth.
References
- "Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 3rd edition"; Nancy Clark; 2003
- "Sports and Fitness Nutrition"; R. Wildman and B. Miller; 2004
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